Tilted spring snubber



Aug. 2, 1938. E. G. GooDwlN TILTED SPRING SNUBBER Filed July 22, 1935 2Sheets-Sheet 1 w .wi

\\ el Q INVEN TOR.

Patented I y UNITED STATES. PATENT ori-ice TIIIIED SPRING S ApplicationJuly n, 1935,' sei-nu No. 32,642 za claim. (ci. los- 197) This inventionrelates to snubbers for vehicles, further simpliiled form in that thespring seats especially for railway car trucks and particularly areseparable from the side frame and bolster. for freight car trucks havinghelical springs. The Figure 6 is a force diagram combined with a primaryobject is to provide an extremley light diagram of the preferred methodof loading the snubber having very few parts and ata very low spring.4

cost as compared to the vmost economical railway Figure 7 is similar toFigure 6 but showing the snubbers now on the market or proposed byspring loaded substantially on diagonal corners. prior workers in therailway snubber art. Figure 8 is a vertical section similar to FigureAnother object is to provide a snubber which 1 but of a simplified form.

10 can be inserted in existing car trucks without Figure 9 is a verticalsection thru the side 1. the necessity oi any but 'minor alterations,for frame of a pedestal type ofl six wheel truck in example, involvingonly the cuttingaway of part which my invention is incorporated; thismodiof the flange at the ends of the spring plank ilcation provides fora snubbing resistance bewhere this is necessary and the substitution oftwen two spring supported pedestals `and two of tilted spring seats forthose in the existing equipthe journal boxes. 15

ment. Broadly speaking, the object of my in- Figure'l is a view similarto Figure 9 but showvention is so to arrange existing equipment as ing afour wheel truck, both gures being modito make its self-snubbing.flcations fundamentally similar to Figure 8.l

I carry out these and other objects which will In order to betterunderstand the invention it be later made apparent, primarily by-givingthev will be best to refer rst to Figure 5 which'shows 20 bolstersprings a tilted position whereby-thef standard construction in whichthe usual parts bolster is given a horizontal lateral thrust against arerearranged to incorporate my invention in one of the columns of the sideframe which one of its most simpiied forms. Within the winthrustincreases with the compression oi' the dow of the standard side frame Ithere is carsprings due to increase in load bouncing or rockried abolster 2 on springs 3 in such a manner 25 ing of the car. Thishorizontal thrust creates a that the bolster is at all times undernormal confrictional resistance to dampen the vertical ditions urgedagainst one of the columns 4 movement. It' will be apparent that atlight whereby to create a frictional pressure and snubloads or underlightv shocks the snubbing eiect bing action between the bolster and thecolumn 30 is practically nil but that as the shocks grow in with eachrelative movement of the last named 30 intensity or as the load isincreased the snubparts. At this point of frictional engagement bingeirect takes place in greater amounts so that there may be providedreplaceable means such as the increase in cumulative rocking or bouncinga liner5 and a shoe 6 (see Figures 1, 2 and 8) above a safe degree isprevented. Altho designed to take up the resulting wear. The tilting ofthe 35.' primarily for railway car trucks it will be readily springs 3is brought about by providing tilted 35 understood that my invention isadaptable for and relatively displaced upper and lower spring use insnubbing or damping the vibration oi any seats I0 and Il respectivelywhich seats have the spring cushioned force since it consists in sousual spring retaining means such as hubs or positioning the spring asto split up the force bosses I2 but which engage the springs prefer- 40into components one of' which is normal to the ably on knife or rolledges I2a. In order to pro- 40 direction of the force being snubbed andwhich vide suiilcient room for offsetting the lower seat component isutilized in part as a frictional re- -I I, I cut away or ilatten out theange of the sistance to the force, that is, the normal comspring plank'Ia so that the edge III abuts the ponent is usedto damp the vibrations.side frame as shown inFigures 1 land 5.

Referring to the drawings: INow turning to my preferred form shown in 45Figure 1 is a vertical section thru a truck side' Figure l, I providefor delayed snubbing by frame'and bolster end showing the preferredemconnecting the bolster shoe 60 to the bolster 2a bodiment of myinvention. thru a thrustvlink member 62 which -is rounded Figure 2 is aAfragmentary horizontal section at each end for pivoting in the recessedboss 63 on line 2 2 of Figure 8. of the shoe at one end and in asomewhat simi- 50 Figures 3 and 4 are sections'respectively similarrecess 64 of the bolster at the other'lend. 'I'he lar to Figures 8 and 2but of a modification in link or bar 62 is made suillciently long toprovide which provision .is made for lateral motion. a space 65 betweenthe shoeand the bolster and Figure 5 is a vertical section also similartov I also provide clearance 66 .between the boss 83 Figure 8 andshowing a modiilcation of a still and the upper and lower-edges ofthebolster-wall vIIS aperture 6J in which the boss 83 is located. Thus thebolster may move freely an appreciable distance up or down before theshoe 60 comes into snubblng action. It will be seen that in effect theshoe is pivoted on the bolster whereby it may lay flat against thecolumn or liner regardless of irregularities of wear and non-parallelismof the columns. 'I'he bolster is usually spaced at I3 from the oppositecolumn so that wear elements may be left out on that side if desired.

The space I 4 between the top of the springs at' the left of the bossesor hubs I2 is taken up when the springs go solid as indicated in th'edotted rectangle 34 and the same is true of the space I4 at thediagonally opposite corner. This is due to the pivoting of the springson the knife edges I 2a which permits the springs to rock from theposition indicated by the center line 36 to the solid position indicatedby the centerline 31 and which rocking takes ,place as the bolster movesup and down. The upper spring seats in Figure 1 are made integral withthe bottom wall ofthe bolster and this' is also true of the upper seatsin the modification shown in Figure 8. However, as shown in Figure 8 theside frame also may be formed with tilted integral spring seats whichmay be provided with a spring plank 1 shaped at the ends to correspondwith the contours of these seats. The liner 5 and shoe 8 of Figure 8 maybe secured in place in any known manner, for example, by rivets I'I andI8 respectively as shown lin Figure 2. Stops'l5, lia and I6 may beprovided in the usual manner for preventing excessive lateral motion.

Oneform 'oi' my invention is combined with` lateral motion means asshown in Figure 3 in which the upper spring seats are separated from thebolster 2 as by antifriction members4 9 and the seat is preferbly madeintegral withthe shoe 8 which, as illustrated in Figure @may bechannel-shaped in horizontal cross section for embracing the column. Noliner is needed between the shoe and the opposite column at I9 ascontact here is light and relatively infrequent, however if this columnis faced'it should extend down past the shoebearing. It isto beunderstoodv that the shoe 60 of Figure 1 mayalso be of this channelshape construction.

The operation of the mechanisms described thus -faris .believed to beself evident but attention is called to the fact that in theconstructions described there is an' increase in the frictions]engagement of the shoe and column as the increase in the compressinglforces but. as will be seen in Figures 1 and 6, is due in part to therocking of the springs on the knife edge supports.

This rocking' causes a change inthe angle between l center lines 36 and31 which chang/e causes a change of frictional engagement of the shoeand column. This may be roughly indicated by the distance between thecenter lines 28 and 21 on a horizontal line thru point 38. vThe forcediagrams .in Figures 6 and 7 show how the spring capacity c is split upinto the horizontal component h and vertical load component v. It willalso be noted in Figure 6 that the knife vedges on the spring seats maybe in the form of rollers.' Under some conditions the spring seats maybeplane though sloping as shown in Figure 'I if the spring 3 is engaged atdiagonally opposite cornersand as will be noted the spring'in thisarrangment is in a vertical position.

My invention may alsobe incorporated in a type of truck having sixwheels as illustrated in y springs. are. compressed andthis is not-dueentirely to the Figure a; In the truck shown in Figure 9 the frame 'Iais supported on two opposltely tilted springs 3 which pivotally engagethe frame in much the same manner as the springs engage the bolster inmy above described simpler modications, i. e., on knife edge seats. Thesprings are supported on equalizer bars 20 which rest' at each end onthe journal boxes 2i and the tilt of the springs is such that they atall times urge 4the equalizer bars and thereby the outside lournal boxesagainst the outside pedestals 22 of the frame, the inside pedestals 23preventing horizontal movement of the central journal'box with respecttothe frame. 'I'he lower spring seats 2li are preferably but notnecessarily detachably carried by the equalizer bars 26, which engagethe outside journal boxes 2| thru contact studs 2t and 2l. It will beapparent that as the springs contract and expand. the outside pedestalswill slide with respectively vgreater and less friction on the Journalboxes whereby damping excessive bounc-4 lng and swaying of the car isaccomplished.'

The modification in Figure diers from that in Figure 9 in that thesprings are tilted in the, I

same direction whereby it is necessary to provide a hook on the rightend of the equalizer bar` 201 for engaging the outside of the journal`box 2lb to draw the same against the pedestal 25 while at the same timeforcing the opposite journal box 2lb against the pedestal 22h. The stopor stops 28 on the bar 2Gb prevent excessive movement of the journalboxes with respect to the pedestals. By providing larger openings 29 anynumber orgtype oi springs may be employed instead of the two shown.

It will be appreciated that my invention makes it possible to have allthe advantages of the low cost light weight helical springs withouttheir single disadvantage of accumulative bouncing such as encounteredwhen the vehicle moves over4 a road or track having -'substantiallyuniform f spaced irregularities at speeds which in the absence ofsnubbers amplies verticalr vehicle movements to the degreethat isdamaging to the vehicle. load and track and which ia uncomfortable topassengers or to live stock.

What I claim is;

l. ln a car truck. a bolster, springs for sup-A porting the bolster andmeans for guiding the bolster as it moves in response to expansion andcontraction of thesprings. said springs being 4arranged to urge thebolster against said guide whereby snubbing occurs.

2. In combination a load carrying memberfa supporting member, springsfor supporting said load carrying member, and a guide on one ofsaid'members for constraining said load carrying member to move in acertain path as the springs contract and expand', said springs beingarranged tc convert a part ofthe contracting and expanding forces intoforces normal to the guided pa whereby said member is urged against theguide and thereby creates snubbing friction to dampen excessivebouncingof the spring supported load carrying member.

3. In a car truck, a side frame having an opening for receiving abolster end, springs foxsup `porting the bolster, and columns forguiding the bolster end as the springs contract and expand characterizedby the springs b'eing arranged with their axes substantially parallel tothe plane of the side` frame but tilted in the same direction from thevertical whereby to urge the bolster end f against one of the columns.

v4. Thede'viceofclaimiiinwhichthecolumns being offset from those on thebolster whereby the springs are tilted toward one of .the columns.

6. In combination, a standard type side frame having the usual bolsteropening, a standard type -bolster having its end in said opening, lastandard flanged spring plank, lower spring seats on said plank, upperspring seats on the bolster, a nest 4of helical vsprings between saidupper and lower spring seats, characterized by the lowerspring seatsbeing offset laterally in the same direction from points directly belowthe upper spring seats whereby the springs are tilted toward one of thecolumns.

7. The combination of claim 6. in which the spring seats are providedwith substantial knife edges for engaging the springs on lines parallelto the spring plank whereby upon contraction and expansion the springsmay rock in the plane of the` side frame.

8. 4The combination of claim 6 in which one of the flanges is flattenedout at the end of the spring plank whereby the lower spring seats may beoffset a maximum amount and in abutting engagement with one side of thebolster opening so that the springs lean toward the other side of thebolster opening,

` 9. In combination in a car truck, a side frame having a bolsteropening, a bolster, springs in said opening for supporting one end ofthe bolster, lateral motion means between the springs and the bolster,and including 'a spring seat, and a friction shoe connected to saidspring seat, said springs being positioned to lean toward the side ofthe opening engaged by said shoe whereby the shoe is urged intofrictional engagement with the side frame as the springs contract andexpand and acts to damp the springs. v

10. In a car truck, a journal box, a frame, springs supporting the frameon said journal box, yand a guide for maintaining the frame and journalbox in their relative horizontal positions as the springs contract andexpand, said springs being tilted whereby to urge the journal box intofrictional engagement with said guide to cause snubbing.

11. In a car truck having a plurality of journal boxes, a bar spanningtwo of said Iiournal boxes, said bar resting on one of the two boxes andhavving abutting engagement with the other of the two,-al frame havingvertical guides engaging said journal boxes, a spring on said bar forsupporting said frame, the line of action of said spring being such'asto cause the bar to urge said other of the two journal boxes intofrictional engagement ywith its guide whereby to dampenthe vibration theshoe, means for spacing the shoe lfrom the.

side of the bolster, said spacing means having rolling engagement withthe bolster and shoe so that thebolster may freely move up and down opits springs with respect to the shoe and spaced cooperating memberslocated in part on the shoe and in part on the bolster for limiting saidrelative movement and for causing the shoe to move with the bolsterafter such limited movement o! the bolster end, whereby snubbing occursonly after an amount of bolster movement determined by the chosenclearance between said spaced cooperating members.

13. In a car truck, a column member, a spring supported bolster member,a snubbing shoe having frictional engagement with one of said mem-- bers'for damping vertical movement of the bolster, a horizontal thrust barhaving one end pivoted on the shoe and the opposite end pivoted on theother member and slightly spacing the shoe laterally from said othermember and means loosely interlocking the shoe and said other memberwhereby the bolster member has limited unsnubbed vertical movement.

14. In combination, a side frame having spaced guide columns, a bolsterend spring supported on said side frame between said columns,characterized in that the axes of the springs are oblique to oneof saidcolumns so that the bolster end is urged toward said one column of theside frame and away from the opposite column.

l5'. The device of claim 14 in which the springs l are supported onknife edges so that the pressure against the said one column increasesasthe springs are compressed.

16. The device of claim 14 plus a shoe interposed between the bolsterand said one column, and a rocking member between the bolster and shoe,said ybolster and shoe having stops with clearance to allow appreciablespring motion without movement of the shoe and consequently withoutsnubbing.

17. In a car truck, a vertical side frame column, a shoe frictionallyengaging said column, means for maintaining said frictional engagementincluding a bolster end adjacent the shoe, bolster supporting springsarranged to exert a part of their forces to urge the bolster toward thecolumn, a horizontal plate spacing the shoe from the bolster end,`whereby snubbing occurs only after an amount oi' bolster movementdetermined by the chosen clearance between said spaced cooperatingmembers.

18. In a car truck, an unsprung part having a vertical snubbing surfacethereon,v a sprung part having a vertical snubbing surface cooperatingwith thel first mentioned surface, springs supporting the sprung part onthe unsprung part, said springs being tilted to exert horizontal forcecomponents directed to create a pressure between said surfaces, saidcomponents being proportional to the load on the springs wherebysnubbing occurs in proportion to the load. l

19. In a car truck having a sprung part and an unsprung part, said partshaving cooperating -i'rictional surfaces for guiding the sprung part onthe unsprung part as the springs -expand and contract during operationof the truck, said springs being tilted toward-said surfaces whereby tovary the frictional contact of said surfaces in accordance with the loadon the springs and whether the sprung part is moving up or down withreference to the unsprung part.

20. In a vehicle, a load carrying member, a

load carrying member to move in a path.

said guide being disposed at an angle to the direction of forces exertedby the springs as they contract and expand whereby the load carryingmember is urged against the guide to' `produce a damping eil'ect on saidsprings.

, 21. In a vehicle, aiload carrying member and a supporting member, a'spring on the latter supporting said carrying'member, a guidefrictionally engaging and directing said carrying member tc move inalinear path fixed with respect to the other member and at an angle tothe direction of the forces of contraction-Tand expansion of the spring,and pivoting Ineens for,v the spring to permit it to rock a plane thruits own axis as it expands and ccntracts,'said path lying in said planewhereby said angle varies with the expansion and contraction of thespring thereby to very said frictionai engagement and produce a dempingeffect on-said spring. A

22. In a car truck an axle supporting member, a bolster member, meansfor resiliently supporting the bolster member on the axle supportedmember, said ,means including parallel supports Pivoted on the axlesupported member and pivotally engaging the bolster member, saidsupports being Y oblique whereby tending to displace horizontally saidsupported and supporting members relatively t-o each other andcooperating vertical guiding surfaces on, both members limiting thehorizontal displacement and` at the4 same time permitting relativevertical movement of said members. said movement being constantlysnubbed by the frictional engagement of the cooperating guiding surfacescaused by the horizontal thrust of said oblique nipports. i

23. In a car truck, an unsprung part. a` sprung lpart, said parts havingconstantly cooperating 'eertical guiding surfaces, pivoted resilientsupports for supporting the sprung part on the unsprung part, sai-:lsupports beix arranged obliquely to the guiding surfaces wherebycreatinga snubbing action between said surfaces, and means onsaid parts forlimiting lateral` movement of the sprlnig part on the unsprung part.

24. In a car truck, an axle supported member,

a bolster member, means including oblique tilt- `able supports forresiliently supporting said bolster member on the axle supported member,cooperating. vertical guiding surfaces on said members. said surfacesbeing substantially normal to the direction of travel of the truck, andthe 25. In a car truck, an unsprung part, a sprungpart, means forlimiting lateral movement of the sprung part on the unsprung part, meansresiliently supporting the sprung part on the unsprung part includingnon-perpendicular supports between and pivotally engaging the parts andtending to displace horizontally one part with respect to the otherpart, and vertical cooperating-guiding Vsurfaces on both parts to limitsuch Ihorizontal displacement and at the same time permit relativevertical movement of the sprung part on the unsprung part, such movementbeing constantly restricted bythe frictional drag between the abovementioned guiding surfaces.

26. In al car truck in combinatiome plurality of Journal boxes, a framevertieally movable with' respect. to said journal boxes and havingsnubbing surfaces engaging said journal boxes, said surfaces being normato the longitudinal axis of the truck, and means supporting the frame onthe journal bcxes, said frame supporting means v being oblique to aplane normal to said axis thereby acting at all times .to force saidjournal boxes into snubbing engagement vwith said surfaces whereby todamp oscillations of the frame with respect to the journal hoses.

27. In a car truck in combination, a plurality of axles, a plurality ofjournal boxes, a frame vertically movable with respect to said journalboxes and having snubbing surfaces arranged parallel to said 'axles andengaging saidjournal boxes, and frame supporting means resting in part-an said journal boxes and including members tilted to change a part ofthe vertical load forces into horizc-ntal force components passingthrough said,

snubbing surfaces thereby acting at all times to force said `iournalbexes into snubbing engagement with said surfaces whereby to snubrelative vertical movement of the frame and journal boxes. y' l 28. In acar truck in combination, a side frame 'having an opening for receivinga bc-lster end, a

snubbing surface bordering said opening, a bolster end movable up anddown in said opening and bolster supporting means acting at all times tourge said bolster end against said snubbing surface thereby to snub boththe horizontal and up and down mevement of the bolster in the frame.

` ERNEST G. GOODWIN.

